The Twelve Days Before Christmas
by CandC1988
Summary: As part of my absolute devotion to Christmas, I wrote this story. It is just a few chapters of fluff. So, hope you enjoy.
1. Day One

Author's Note: Okay, so since I love Christmas, I decided that I wanted to make a Christmas story for this year. This story will be updated once every day for the twelve days leading up to Christmas. I also decided that since I usually write Spinelli/TJ fics, that this new one would be a Gretchen/Vince fic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day One

"Christmas is in twelve days," a tall girl spoke into her phone, idly flipping through channels as she did so, "and he won't even be here."

"But," the girl on the other end replied, "I'm coming down to be with you, along with TJ and the rest of the gang. Come on Gretch, you don't need Vince there to have a good Christmas."

"Having him there would help," Gretchen said miserably, "not to say I can't wait for you guys to arrive Spinelli. The five of us together will have fun."

"Yeah, plus you'll absolutely love the Christmas gift I bought you," Spinelli encouraged her. Before Gretchen could respond, she heard a knock on the door.

"Can you hold on a second Spinelli?" Gretchen asked, "someone's at the door."

Gretchen quickly walked over to the door and opened it to see a man holding out a letter to her.

"Are you Gretchen Grundler?" the man asked. She wordlessly nodded and he handed her the letter.

"This letter is for you," he explained.

She quietly ripped open the envelope to read the letter.

_Hey baby,_

_I know that your disappointed that I can't come see you for Christmas. And I really wish I could, but with team practices taking up so much of my time, I can't get off. I still love you and I want you to know that I remember you every second of every day. So, as a token of my appreciation for you and our love, I decided to show you that I still remember Christmas. And that today is exactly twelve days before it starts. Well ... at least until Christmas Eve. Try and remember me at Christmas, but have fun with the gang and be happy. I love you._

_Love,_

_Vince_

Gretchen then looked up at the man standing in the doorway. The man grinned widely and handed her a bouquet of roses. Gretchen's face broke out in a grand smile. The man then left and Gretchen hurried back over to her phone to tell Spinelli.

"Oh my gosh! Vince just sent me a dozen roses!" Gretchen exclaimed. Vince had never done anything this romantic before in their entire two years of dating.

"Why?" Spinelli asked.

"Because its twelve days before Christmas and he wanted to let me know that he remembers me," Gretchen sighed.

"TJ never bought me flowers," Spinelli grumbled, "who would have thought you would have ended up with the more romantic of the two."

"Hey, I heard that," Gretchen could hear TJ say through the phone.

"Good, you were supposed to, you lazy boy," Spinelli retorted.

"Excuse me Spinelli, but could we please concentrate on the fact that my boyfriend just did the most romantic thing he's ever done for me," Gretchen tried to catch her best friend's attention.

"Sorry Gretch," Spinelli said, "I think its really sweet and romantic and sounds like you have the best boyfriend in the world. However, I have to go get ready to come see you tomorrow. Don't forget to pick us up at the airport. Because I don't want to have to get a taxi. And you know how cranky I get with taxi cabs."

"As if I could ever forget about you guys," Gretchen waved off, "have fun. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Gretchen and Spinelli hung up their phones and Gretchen started humming to herself as she ran into the kitchen to put her dozen roses in a vase. She could hear the door being opened and shut and figured her room mate must have come home.

"Nice flowers," Tessa observed as she walked in the room. Gretchen and Tessa had met their first day of medical school and decided to move into an apartment together. The only weird part of their relationship was that Tessa didn't exactly approve of Gretchen and Vince's relationship. She thought that they were too young and too far away to be a good couple.

"They are from Vince," Gretchen said, satisfied at finally having something to throw in her room mates face about how good of a guy Vince really was.

"That's sweet," Tessa said, passively, "so, the plan is that I'm leaving right after you get back from the airport with your friends."

"You don't have to leave," Gretchen protested to her room mate for what seemed like the hundredth time, "they won't mind if you celebrate Christmas with us."

"It'll be good for me to see my family," Tessa assured her, "besides, you should be alone with your friends since Vince decided he can't take off a couple days to come up."

"You are a great friend and a great room mate," Gretchen informed her, "but you are going to stick around long enough to meet them, right?"

"Why would I miss meeting the infamous gang that is plastered all around your walls?" Tessa mockingly said.

"This could turn out to be a really good Christmas," Gretchen decided, turning back to her flowers with a big smile on her face.


	2. Day Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters. Even though it would be really fun!

Day Two

Gretchen ran through the terminal to meet her friends. She was already running late because her class had gotten out late. And she knew that Spinelli had not been kidding when she said how much she hated taking taxi cabs. It was one thing that Gretchen had never understood about Spinelli, but nevertheless, a grouchy Spinelli did not make for a fun time.

"Gretchen!" she could hear somebody yell behind her. Soon a woman who was a couple of inches shorter than she was enveloped her in a big hug. The two best friends hadn't seen each other since Gretchen had started medical school and Spinelli had started her teaching job. They were excited about this opportunity to spend Christmas together.

"Hey Spinelli," Gretchen greeted, returning the hug, and then turning to the three boys and giving them each a hug, "hey guys."

She stepped back and looked at each of her four friends. Spinelli still had the brown hair, but now about shoulder-length and seemed to be dressed in more conservative clothes, which Gretchen assumed, went along with her teaching job. TJ, whose arm was around Spinelli's shoulders, was tall and had recently joined an ad agency as one of their interns. He was hoping to make it into the big leagues of advertisement. Mikey and Gus were both looking pretty good. They had decided to join the military and finally got leave at the same time to come see old friends.

"It's so great to see you guys again!" she squealed as they began to carry their luggage to Gretchen's car, "wait until you meet my room mate. You will absolutely love her!"

"And if we don't?" Gus asked, a joking tone in his voice.

"Then pretend you do," Gretchen informed him, "because she is my study partner and without her, I would be flunking out of med school."

"Is that a bad thing?" Spinelli innocently asked, "then you could come back and be with us."

"Ha ha ha Spinelli," Gretchen sarcastically laughed.

---

When the five friends reached the apartment that Gretchen lived at they could see a couple of guys going back and forth between a truck and her apartment. Gretchen threw them a confused look as they followed her in the house.

"Tessa?" Gretchen called into the house as they entered. Tessa calmly came strolling out of her room.

"Hey Gretch," Tessa said flippantly, "this letter came for you."

_Hey baby,_

_It's me again. I really hope you never get tired of reading these letters. I can't believe its only eleven days until Christmas. You have no idea how much I miss you right now. I actually called a guy Gretchen last night on accident. But, don't worry, I'm not cuddling with any of the other players yet. I'll save that all for you baby. It was slightly hard for me to come up with the perfect gift for you today. I mean, what could a girl who has the most awesome boyfriend, the best of friends, and now a dozen roses possibly want? And I know you are thinking that yourself, but I will tell you. But, here you go: I don't want you getting any fishy ideas about the other guys in our group ... well ... the single ones. We all know that Spinelli has TJ wrapped around her little finger. Love you baby._

_Love you,_

_Vince_

"Well, that's not a very good gift," Gretchen muttered to herself. The others looked at her curiously and she handed the letter to Tessa. Tessa read through the letter and laughed. She then grabbed Gretchen's hand and pulled her into the kitchen. During this process, she shoved the letter at Spinelli.

"Hey, Spinelli does not have me wrapped around her finger!" Gretchen could vaguely hear TJ protest, telling her that the others had been reading over Spinelli's shoulder.

"Look," Tessa urged her. Gretchen looked up to see a big fish tank.

"What the heck?" Gretchen muttered.

"Come on, don't you get it, 'don't get any fishy ideas', it's obvious, he decided to get you fish," Tessa rolled her eyes. Gretchen smiled before turning back to the fish tank and counting how many fish were in there.

"Eleven fish," she muttered, "of course, it would be eleven."

"Because of the eleven days before Christmas," Spinelli said as she joined the girls in the kitchen, "man, Vince is showing TJ up major time."

"I can hear you sweetheart," TJ replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her on the neck.

"Well, that's because you were suppposed to," Spinelli teased him, "Does this give you any ideas for me yet? I mean, Vince can't show you up in everything, can he?"

"I think I am definitely going to have to change my mind about your boyfriend," Tessa chipped in, "those guys earlier came in to install the fish tank and insisted on doing it, even though I told them we didn't order one."

"Wait, you don't like Vince?" Gus questioned her.

"Ehh," was her reply, "I'm Tessa by the way."

"Hi Tessa," they each said in return, introducing themselves.

"Gretchen Grundler, I think you are going to have a very Merry Christmas without your boyfriend around this year," Tessa declared, sending her a smile.


	3. Day Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Three

"I can't believe how sweet Vince is being," Spinelli complimented Gretchen the next morning. The two friends were sitting at the table eating breakfast while the boys were all still asleep.

"Well, what can I say?" Gretchen smiled, "He just recently developed this attitude. So, maybe TJ will too!"

"I doubt it," Spinelli grumbled, and as if on cue, TJ walked into the kitchen.

"Hey babe," he greeted somewhat grumpily, kissing her on top of her head and dropping into the seat next to her, "hey Gretch."

"Hey hon," Spinelli greeted back, "can you get me a glass of orange juice?"

"Get it yourself," TJ snapped. This proved to Gretchen that he was still sore over Vince's comment about being wrapped around Spinelli's finger.

Spinelli, much to Gretchen's surprise, just got up to go get her own orange juice. She apparently also knew what was bugging TJ. And was trying to make the most of it until TJ's bruised ego healed.

"I'm going to get the mail," Gretchen stated, getting up to give the couple time to talk.

"Have fun," Spinelli smiled, before turning to her boyfriend.

Gretchen walked down the stairs towards the apartments mailboxes. She really liked the gifts that Vince had been sending her, but she just wanted him to be here. Today she was planning on showing the others around New York City. And she could just imagine TJ and Spinelli's holding hands, flirting, and generally acting like the adorable couple that they were. She hadn't realized how hard this Christmas was going to be without Vince until TJ and Spinelli had come.

Gretchen turned the key in the mailbox and found another letter from Vince sitting in there. She smiled to herself, promising to wait until she was upstairs to actually read it. She wondered if there was a gift with this one. If Vince kept buying her gifts, she would become spoiled and never want him to stop. That's the way she looked at it.

"Hey," she was greeted when she ran back upstairs with the letter. Mikey and Gus were now sitting at the table, pouring themselves a bowl of cereal.

"Man, it felt good to sleep in today," Gus complimented, "I don't think I've got to sleep in like that for a long time."

Gretchen smiled at him before opening the enveloped and pulling out the letter. A few pieces of paper fluttered out and she decided to ignore them until after she had finished reading the letter.

_Hey baby,_

_Well ... here we are, once again another day has passed until Christmas. I can just see you sitting at the table reading this letter, the rest of the gang around you. Have fun today showing them around the City, but don't forget about little old me down here working my butt off for my basketball team! Not that you would ... because you have the constant reminder of the everlasting couple. But, just so that isn't a problem, here's some problems for you to solve. I talked to Hank, you know the janitor at Third Street School, and he helped me come up with some math problems that he thought would be particularly difficult for my genius to figure out. I figured since you guys got so close because of that when you were in elementary school, it might help distract you by the hard work, and also by reminding you of the great elementary school days. Well, I'm off to another long, grueling day of practice. I love you._

_Love,_

_Vince_

_P.S. Tell TJ I was only kidding about what I said in my letter yesterday. He's not whipped, he just cares for Spinelli as much as I care for you._

"Gretchen, these are math problems," Gus said, suspiciously, as she finished reading the letter, "why in the world do you have them?"

"It's Vince's gift for me today," Gretchen's face split into a big smile.

"Are you serious?" Spinelli asked, trying to contain her laughter, while snatching the letter out of her hand to read it. She could see TJ reading it over her shoulder, hoping that when reading the P.S. he wouldn't be as cranky.

She quickly picked up the ten math problems that lay scattered around her table. She couldn't wait to get started on them. She was sure that it would take her a while to finish them. She could start a fresh brew of coffee and then work on the ...

"No way," Spinelli stubbornly said, seeing the look on Gretchen's face, "you are showing us around today. We may let you have to be a geek, but I will not totally let you go."

"How about I work on these while the four of you sight see?" Gretchen hopefully asked.

"Let's go," Spinelli commanded, leaving no room for argument. She linked arms with Gretchen and started leading her to the bathroom, "you take your shower first while I put the nice little math problems away until after we get back."

"Being a teacher has affected your brain," Gretchen muttered half-heartedly, but still obeyed and got into the shower.

Spinelli shook her head and then went to go sit back down with the boys, "What was Vince thinking, giving Gretchen math problems? Now she won't want to do anything until they are all solved."


	4. Day Four

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Four

Gretchen was laying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Yesterday had been fun, but exhausting. After they had gone exploring the city, Spinelli had given her the math problems back. She had been up until four trying to figure them out. She had gotten through five. After this, she had stared at her eleven fish, and her dozen roses, knowing that Vince was trying to make up for not being there for Christmas. And she had to admit while he was doing a very good job, she was still disappointed that he wasn't going to be around.

"Gretchen Grundler," Spinelli inserted as she came into the room, climbing into the bed next to Gretchen, "how's your morning?"

"Just thinking," Gretchen sighed.

"Come on," Spinelli urged, "talk to me. Remember when we used to do this in school? We would talk about our love for TJ and Vince, but how we knew neither one would ever love us back. I think we were wrong."

"Good times," Gretchen agreed, "I wish Vince was here though."

"I know honey," Spinelli assured, "it's hard when the person you love the most isn't around to celebrate something as good as this."

"Why did we go to different colleges again?" Gretchen asked, somewhat playfully, somewhat seriously, "I mean, I miss this friendship."

"I think it might be because one of us was way smarter than the other," Spinelli informed her, "but, you are right, I totally miss those days."

"Do you remember that one night when we decided we were going to call Vince and TJ and tell them we liked them?" Gretchen giggled.

"Yeah, you acted so nonchalant as you told Vince, but then right after you finished you hung up the phone really quick," Spinelli smiled, "but, then I couldn't go through with it."

"I know," Gretchen shook her head, "you do realize you and Teej could have been together a lot earlier if you would have just done it then? I mean, Vince and I became a couple about two weeks later."

"Remember when he came up to you the next Monday and was acting all cool and said, 'so, Gretchen, I received an interesting message from you on Friday,'," Spinelli recalled, "that was so long ago, that means the two of you have been dating ...,"

"For over five years," Gretchen grinned.

"And when are the two of you going to get married?" Spinelli teased her.

"Probably never," Gretchen rolled her eyes, "Vince seems to not think of marriage as a top priority right now."

"Hey guys," TJ said, stepping into the room holding a package, "a FedEx guy dropped this box off for you Gretch. I bet I can guess that it is Vince's daily present for you."

Gretchen immediately ripped off the letter attached to the front of the package to read it.

_Hey baby,_

_I bet you have down how many days there are until Christmas now. So, I guess I won't remind you today. I decided that my present today will be a little bit more along the lines of traditional friends gifts. Not that you won't love them. Okay, so here's a hint: you like to watch these kind of movies, but you don't like people to know you watch them. And there's always a love plot in them. Pretty much the biggest hint in the world, right? But, I choose to believe that the reason you like these movies so much is because you know you have the great Vince, and you want to see other people happy. Not because you are unhappy and need the constant reassurance that a true fairy tale love is out there. So, I love you baby, and have a great day!_

_Love ya,_

_Vince_

Gretchen ripped open the package, already knowing what was contained in it. Laying in the package, in three tiny rows of three each, were nine movies. She then scanned over the titles: _Casablanca, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, You've Got Mail, One Fine Day, My Best Friend's Wedding, Pretty Woman, _and _Hitch. _

"What the heck did Vince get you movies for?" Spinelli asked, bewildered, while also shooting her a boyfriend a hinted look.

"Because he loves me, duh Spinelli," Gretchen answered, picking up the nearest pillow and hitting the girl over the head with it, "let's watch a movie."

"Sweet," Spinelli replied, while TJ groaned.

"Do I have to watch it?" TJ whined.

"Yes sweetheart," Spinelli curtly told him, "now, go get some cookies and milk for us to eat while we're watching it."

TJ walked, sulking, out of the room muttering something that Gretchen thought sounded oddly like cruel and unusual punishment, and being forced to watch a chick flick when Spinelli had one of her own friends to watch it with. She could barely suppress a grin as she turned to Spinelli.

"You know he didn't have to watch it with us," Gretchen smiled at her.

"Yes he does," Spinelli sternly said, "half the fun in watching chick flicks is hearing the guys complain."

"Too true," Gretchen admitted, "so, come on, let's go and wake Gus and Mikey up so they can watch it with us."

As the two girls exited the room, Gretchen, holding her movie of choose, _Casablanca_, couldn't help but think that Vince would probably be very grateful to hear that he didn't have to sit through one of Gretchen's chick flicks.


	5. Day Five

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Five

"Hey Gretch," TJ said as he joined her at the table for breakfast. She was just sitting there, stirring her spoon in her cereal, staring off into space.

"Hey Teej," she shot him a smile.

"You know, maybe you should tell Vince to lighten up on these gifts," he joked, "I mean, I can't compete and I think Spinelli is starting to get a little irritated that her boyfriend isn't being as sweet and cute as yours."

"Whatever," Gretchen rolled her eyes, "you know Spinelli doesn't really care about all of that stuff. She's just glad to be with you."

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" TJ smiled, "I didn't think we were ever going to get together."

"Oh, I knew it," Gretchen informed him.

"How in the world did you know it?" TJ asked, bewildered.

"Because you told me that you liked her, and I already knew that she liked you, so I figured it was only a matter of time before you guys got together," Gretchen told him, matter of fact like, "actually, Vince and I had a bet going on how long it would take the two of you to get together. He won though."

"Really?" TJ smiled, "because Spinelli and I had the exact same bet about the two of you. But, she won and I didn't."

"And Mikey and I had the same bet going on both couples, Mikey won the Vince and Gretchen round, but I won the TJ and Spinelli round," Gus said, joining the table.

Gretchen shook her head before getting up from the table, "I'm going to go get the mail."

"Expecting your daily letter from Vince?" TJ teased her.

"Actually, I am," she haughtily said, walking out the door and towards the mailbox.

She had decided to open her letter from Vince today by herself. As much as she liked letting the others read them, she really did want her own privacy for a couple of them. Of course, she would let at least Spinelli read it later, but the boys had taken to teasing her so much about them, she decided it was best to avoid them. She thought the guys had started this teasing process because of Spinelli and Gretchen's demand that they watch two "chick flicks" yesterday.

She practically ran to the mailbox, opening it up to find several pieces of mail. She quickly flipped through the phone bill, utility bill, a card from her aunt and uncle, a notice about a library fine for Tessa, another card from another aunt and uncle, and finally the last piece of mail seemed to be the one she was waiting for. She gently opened the envelope to find eight dollars stuck in the front.

"Eight dollars?" Gretchen muttered, "that's weird."

So, she quickly pulled out the letter to begin reading it.

_Hey baby,_

_I know that you saw the eight dollars and were a little confused by it. I mean, why would I send you eight dollars? Minus the obvious reason that it is eight days before Christmas, but eight dollars doesn't seem like a good gift, does it? So, this gift isn't really eight dollars (well ... technically it is, but its really not), its really eight candy bars. See, when trying to think of what to send you for today, I thought, hey why not give her candy bars? And candy bars did not seem an efficient thing to mail, so I decided to use money instead. So, that way you can use the vending machine at the end of your hallway to your apartment to buy four bags of M & M's (your favorite kind of candy) and four Snickers (my favorite kind of candy). Now, technically, you can buy anything you want with your eight dollars (if there's even much to buy with that), but it would be greatly appreciated if you used the money for the designated purpose. But, whatever makes you happy makes me happy. I love you_, _and I hope you find the sweets as sweet as I find you (corny ... I know). _

_Love,_

_Vince_

Gretchen hurried down the hall to go back to her apartment. When she saw the vending machine she decided to go ahead and get her candy bars. Vince had given her the money to get candy bars, and there was no way she was going to get anything else. After she had gotten the candy bars she walked back into her apartment to find the whole gang sitting at the table.

"Did you get hungry on the way back?" Mikey asked her cheerfully, looking at the candy bars in her hands.

"Because I always get hungry on the long trek back here," Gretchen sarcastically said, then threw the letter to Spinelli. Spinelli quickly stood up from the table so that nobody else could read it.

"Girls first, then you boys can read it," Spinelli haughtily told them.

"Oh geez," TJ rolled his eyes. Spinelli read the letter and giggled.

"He gave you eight dollars?" Spinelli asked, "man, Vince thinks of the cutest gifts."

"Eight dollars is a cute fight?" TJ asked, confused.

"Read the letter," Spinelli rolled her eyes, thrusting the letter towards him. The other two boys leaned in closer so they could read it too.

"How cute," TJ sarcastically answered, "I mean a whole eight dollars for you? How sweet."

"Shut up Teej," Spinelli playfully answered, punching him in the arm, "compared to all the rest of the gifts he got her, its definitely a good gift."

"And just imagine, she's still got seven more days to go," Gus threw in.


	6. Day Six

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Six

"I can't believe that Vince is being so sweet to Gretchen," Gus informed Mikey and TJ. They were getting ready for the day while the girls were still asleep.

"You don't think he cheated on her do you?" Mikey asked the other two, worried. Both boys turned to look at him.

"What are you talking about?" TJ questioned him, throwing on a red t-shirt.

"It's just a proven fact that some men after cheating on the significant others, they try to lavish them with gifts because they feel so bad," Mikey shrugged, uneasily.

"Hmm ... that would explain the unexpected gifts, because Vince is never that thoughtful or sweet," Gus said, thoughtfully.

"But, I think you guys are forgetting one very important factor," TJ interrupted the two, "Vince is my best friend, and I think he has something else up his sleeve. He would not do that to Gretchen."

"Do what to Gretchen?" they heard a voice speak up behind them. They turned around and saw Gretchen and Spinelli standing there, bemused expressions on their face.

"N-nothing," Gus stuttered out. Mikey and TJ both backed up as the girls made their way into the room. They did not want to tell the girls what they had been talking about. Not only was Gretchen already insecure about her relationship with Vince because of the distance, but Spinelli would beat them to a bloody pulp because she had warned them before they came that they better not mention it. And they were sure that this would fall under the category of mentioning it.

"Excuse me?" Spinelli spoke to them, a cold wave in her voice.

"Mikey thinks Vince is cheating on Gretchen because of all the presents he's giving her," TJ blurted out. He did not want to be on the receiving end of anything that his girlfriend might throw at him. He could still remember the day she had thrown the knife at his head. Heck, he still had a scar from that.

"What?" Spinelli and Gretchen both responded. Each, however, seemed to have a very what in mind. Gretchen's eyes had widened as if it was a very probable idea, whereas Spinelli's eyes had narrowed in such a way that the boys feared for their lives for even talking about it at all.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Spinelli shot Gretchen a look, but Gretchen almost refused to go get it. The look that Spinelli shot her, however, made her take her chances and walk out to go answer the door. You did not want to be anywhere near Spinelli when someone was receiving her wrath.

Gretchen couldn't help but muster a smile when she heard Spinelli start screaming at the boys as she pulled the door open. On her doorstep, there stood a Fed-Ex guy, holding a package for her. She quickly signed for the package and tore off the letter on the front. She was dying to know what Vince was going to say today.

_Hey baby,_

_Only a few more days until Christmas left. So, I decided to get you a pretty cool gift. I mean, of course it would be a cool gift, it was from me. Have the boys said anything stupid yet? If they give you too much of a hard time, just remember that its because they don't get as cool gifts as you do. You know just as much as I do that they actually like watching those chick flicks. Even if they pretend they don't. But, we also know that I don't. Really, I don't. Anyways, your gift happens to be seven CD's. Some of them are from the old days of our childhood, of our teenage years, and some are more modern. However, I suggest you listen to them all because you used to like each and every one of them. Even if you pretend you don't. I love you._

_Love,_

_Vince_

She opened the package to find seven CD's lined up. There was the first Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, NSync, and Britney Spears CD's. There was also Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway CD, Fall Out Boy's CD, and a CD from Taking Back Sunday. Gretchen couldn't help but grin about how much her music taste had changed over the years. Of course, she didn't really want to admit that she had listened to some of these bands, but she also knew that she would listen to these CD's. It was part of who she was.

Just then, Spinelli walked out of the room, the boys following sheepishly behind. Spinelli smiled at her and said, "so, what did you get today?"

"I got CD's," Gretchen half-heartedly offered, not meeting any of the boys eyes. But, it seemed that they were avoiding her eyes as much as she was avoiding theirs.

"Sweet," Spinelli effortlessly said, pretending that it wasn't awkward at all, "let's listen to a CD."

She then proceeded to pop Spice Girls in the CD player. Gretchen was sure it was part of her revenge on the guys for stating that fact. However, Spinelli didn't look too mad at the boys because a couple of seconds later she grabbed TJ's hand and they started dancing around the room. As she looked at her best friend, who seemed so sure that the boys were stupid, she couldn't help but wonder if her friend was wrong. What if Vince had cheated on her and felt really bad about it and was now trying to make up for it? It sounded like something Vince would do. She really wished she could get a hold of him.


	7. Day Seven

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Seven

"Ice cream!" Mikey said, excited as he ran towards the cart. The five friends were just walking around the city, looking at all the Christmas lights, Times Square, Central Park, and generally having fun. Mikey, Gus, and Gretchen had been keeping up a steady stream of chatter, leaving Spinelli and TJ to be in their own couple world. Which they were accomplishing very well.

The others halfheartedly followed him. This was the eighth food cart they had stopped at. The others had been as willing as Mikey to try them at the first and second carts, but after that, they refused to eat anymore. As Mikey was getting his food, Gretchen's gaze took a far-off glaze to it that had been frequented throughout the day. Spinelli, noticing the look for about the tenth time, tore herself away from TJ to go talk to her best friend.

"Hey, are you sad you haven't got your gift yet?" Spinelli ventured as she approached her best friend. Gretchen gave her a weak smile.

"How did you know?" she quietly asked.

"Because you've gotten your gifts really early in the day since the day you got the goldfish," Spinelli reasoned, "and you didn't get this one right when you woke up or soon after, so I know it must be driving you nuts."

"Just a little," Gretchen managed another tiny smile, "I guess maybe I'm expecting too much out of Vince anyways. Maybe he stopped getting me gifts."

"Please, Vince won't stop getting you gifts until Christmas," Spinelli rolled her eyes, "don't let the guys get to you. They were just being dumb yesterday. We had a little talk yesterday that made them see the errors of their ways."

"Besides, that's not even what we actually thought, we were just speculating why Vince would give you all those spectacular gifts," TJ jumped in.

"Yeah, Vince loves you too much to cheat on you," Gus added while Mikey was finishing paying for his ice cream cone, "I mean, why else would he get you all those fabulous gifts?"

"Well, according to you guys, if he was cheating on me then ...," Gretchen bitterly started.

"Don't listen to them," Spinelli stubbornly said, linking arms with her best friend, "come on, let's go back to the apartment. I bet your gift will be waiting for you when we get back to your house."

As the group started walking back to Gretchen's apartment, Gretchen and Spinelli were talking in low voices to each other, once in a while casting looks at the boys. TJ seemed grumpy from having lost his girlfriend to her best friend. Mikey was happily eating his ice cream cone, while Gus was just staring off into space.

When they entered the entrance to the apartment building there was a package outside of Gretchen's door addressed to her.

"See, I told you," Spinelli calmly said, "let's go."

"Read the letter," Gus urged as soon as they were inside with the gift and Gretchen was just staring at the package.

_Hey baby,_

_What is one of your favorite book series in the entire world? That's right ... Harry Potter. And I know how much you love Harry Potter and how you own every book and every movie, so don't worry I didn't get you those books. Or at least, not completely those books. I managed to get you the six Harry Potter books, in mint condition, in Russian. You know that language that for some reason you became fluent in around eighth grade? I still maintain that you have too much time on your hands if you can learn a language_ _before most people even know how to speak English properly. If people ever learn to speak English properly in America right now. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy these suckers, because it took me a while to find. Of course, you don't have to read them. They might be more valuable one day if you don't. There are so many of them in publication, though, that I don't know if that would be true about this particular series. Well, I love you and once again hope you enjoy the gift._

_Love,_

_Vince_

"He got you Russian Harry Potter books?" Spinelli asked, a slight tone of dismay in her voice, "what kind of gift is that?"

"Perfect if your Gretchen," Gus pointed out, looking at the way Gretchen was staring at the books in awe.

"They are perfect," Gretchen replied, "no matter what you guys think. That is why Vince is my boyfriend and not yours."

"Because you like Russian Harry Potter books?" Mikey asked, confused.

"I always thought it was because Mikey and I weren't gay, and TJ and Spinelli were already destined to be together," Gus threw in.

"No, because he knows me better than any of you do," Gretchen said, frustrated.

"Hey!" Spinelli protested, "I like to think I know you pretty well."

"Wouldn't you say Teej knows you better than anyone else?" Gretchen sighed.

"No," Spinelli automatically replied.

"Well ... actually ... I do know about the ...," TJ started, but was stopped by a swift fist in the stomach by Spinelli.

"Okay, I lied," Spinelli reluctantly admitted, "TJ knows me better than all of you guys. And everybody else I know."

"And Vince definitely knows me better," Gretchen smiled, looking down again at the books that he had purchased for her.


	8. Day Eight

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Eight

"Will you please answer your phone?" Gretchen practically screamed into her phone. She had been trying to call Vince since he started sending her gifts, but he wouldn't answer. And it was totally driving her crazy. But, then with a soft smile, she popped in the NSync CD and fell back on the bed. She did have to admit that her boyfriend was awesomely sweet. But, she felt that he would be even sweeter if he would talk to her. She really missed him.

"Still not answering his phone?" Gus sympathetically said, walking into her room.

"Yeah," Gretchen said, miserable, "how did you know?"

"I could hear you shouting at your phone from our room," Gus said, a twinkle in his eyes, "maybe its part of his plan to not talk to you on the phone."

"Part of what plan?" Grechen asked, grouchy.

"His whole Christmas plan," Gus answered, with a "don't be stupid" tone in his voice.

"Maybe you are right," Gretchen sighed, "but unless he's planning on showing up on my doorstep for Christmas, he better have a good reason for not answering any of my phone calls."

"And what would you do if he did decide to come up here?" Gus asked, curious.

"I would scream with delight and pretty much want to cry," Gretchen replied, smiling, "but, I know that won't happen. Who invented the sport basketball? It stinks really bad."

"He probably would have found another sport to play," Gus pointed out.

"Shut up," Gretchen playfully said, "but thanks for making me feel better."

"Aww ... better not let Vince catch you two in here," TJ joined in the teasing as he entered the door, "I mean, remember, you aren't supposed to get any fishy ideas."

"Ewww," Gretchen and Gus responded together, "that would never happen."

"That's what I thought," TJ laughed at the pair, "who knew that the two of you were so repulsed by each other?"

"Do you think I'm ugly?" Gretchen asked Gus, a hurt expression on her face.

"Well, do you think I'm ugly?" Gus retaliated with an equally hurt expression on his face.

"I'll settle this for both of you," TJ chimed in, "you are both mighty ugly."

"HEY!" they said at the same time. Then they each picked up a pillow and threw it at TJ's head.

"Hey, no beating up my boyfriend," Spinelli scolded them as she walked in the room, "your golden package came!"

"Aww," the two boys said together. Gretchen just stuck her tongue out at them before reaching for the package from Spinelli.

"See if I let you guys see it this time," Gretchen muttered under her breath.

"Good, that means if it's more chick flicks we don't have to watch them," TJ answered.

"TJ!" Spinelli exclaimed, throwing another pillow at him.

"HEY!" TJ reacted, "its only ten in the morning and I've already been hit with three pillows."

"Shh," Gretchen told them all as she ripped open the letter.

_Hey baby,_

_So, another day passes and you're there, and I'm here. I think it gets harder for me to be separated from you as each day passes. All I want to do all night is look at pictures of you (hint, hint). The rest of the team is also really missing their families. Every night we stay in and just talk about our girlfriends, wives, and some even talk about the children they have. Not quite the picture of a basketball star you would imagine, huh? Of course, I know what you think of when you think of basketball players. Tall, arrogant, know-it-all jerks. Because I know that's how you view me. Except you love every bit of me. So maybe I should keep you away from all my basketball friends. I wouldn't want any of them to get the idea that they can take you away from me. Heck, you might even willingly go after_ _them and leave me behind. And that would break my heart. Well, baby, I love you and I will talk to you soon._

_Love,_

_Vince_

"So, what do you think it is?" Spinelli asked her as she began to open the package.

"I don't know he didn't even give me a real hint," Gretchen frowned, throwing the letter at Spinelli. Spinelli began to quickly scan the letter as Gretchen ripped open the last bit of packaging.

"I love it!" she exclaimed. Everybody looked at the gifts that were placed in the plastic and smiled.

There were five picture frames of all different sizes with pictures of the group together. The first picture frame, and the biggest, held a picture of them in fourth grade right after Gus had become their friend. The second picture was taken at their sixth grade graduation, and all of them were dressed nice with their hair well done. The third one was right before prom their junior year. Vince had his arm around Gretchen, and Spinelli and TJ were standing awfully close, even though they hadn't even been going out in the picture. The fourth picture frame held their high school graduation picture. All of them had red eyes as if they had been crying. The last one had been taken this summer right before Gretchen started medical school, Vince started his basketball career, TJ and Spinelli started their new jobs. The group had been hanging out at the beach, just happy to be in each other's company for the short amount of time they had.

"It's absolutely perfect,"Gretchen sighed as she looked at all the pictures lying in the box.


	9. Day Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Nine

"I miss the group being all together," Gretchen groaned as she looked at the pictures that she had placed in her room. Spinelli rolled her eyes.

"The group has been apart for a lot longer than just this year Gretch," Spinelli reminded her, "you were away at Yale, Gus and Mikey were in the military, and TJ, Vince, and I were stuck at state college."

"But its not the same," Gretchen protested, "Medical school is keeping me super busy, you and TJ are about to be off in happily married couple land, Mikey and Gus are still in the military and might have to go overseas sometime soon, and Vince is off playing basketball."

"First of all," Spinelli said, a little panic stricken, "TJ and I aren't even close to happily married couple land. We're just happy with the whole relationship thing as it is right now. We don't want to complicate things too fast. Secondly, Mikey and Gus end their military service soon, then they'll be back. And you and Vince have always worked out your long distance problems, so what's going to stop you now?"

"You and TJ aren't getting married anytime soon?" Gretchen asked her, a little surprised.

"No," Spinelli firmly replied, "we did already talk about this. TJ and I getting married is about as likely as you and Vince getting married right now."

"Yeah, we're never going to get married if he's cheating on me," Gretchen darkly said. Spinelli sighed.

"Look, like I said, the boys were being stupid," she earnestly said, "you have got to give up all these fears you have. You love Vince. Vince loves you. You don't think of cheating on Vince, so why would Vince think of cheating on you? You and Vince will be fine because you are one of those couples destined to be together. And even if you are not, you can remember the good times. But, I think your chances of breaking up with Vince are very slim considering the gifts he's been showering upon you."

"I feel as if I'm getting almost the exact same thing said to me everyday," Gretchen groaned.

"That's because you are," Spinelli informed her, "if you would just listen to us, you would understand and may be more confident."

"Maybe," Gretchen said thoughtfully, giving her best friend a hug, "so, I'm super excited for my gift today."

"Aren't you super excited every day?" Spinelli pointed out, "man, these gifts are getting to your head."

"Whatever," Gretchen rolled her eyes, "you are still just jealous because my boyfriend's sweeter than yours."

"Your boyfriend is not sweeter than Spinelli's," TJ protested as he walked in the room, "if you keep this up, I might have to keep your package from you today."

"Give it to me!" Gretchen scrambled over and practically tackled TJ to the floor to grab her package.

"She isn't going totally insane about these gifts or anything," Spinelli stage whispered to TJ as Gretchen ripped off the letter.

_Hey baby,_

_I know I haven't talked to you much about your medical school lately. But, I know that your first semester must have been awesome like you are! We're going to be the perfect couple, me being a big old basketball start, you being a great fantastic doctor. Can you imagine that? You finding the cure to cancer and all that. But, of course, I'll get all the attention because all our country cares about is whether or not we can play sports (you remind me of this frequently). But don't worry, you will always be number one to me. Well ... except for maybe that Ashley that interviewed me the other day. Yeah, that's right, I got interviewed by Ashley A. the other day. It was pretty amazing. She tried to get me to go to dinner with her, and then when I told her that I was dating you, she curled up her nose. Said that I was wasting my time with you. I, however, told her that I could never waste my time with you. Anyways, I should probably go, but remember keep warm these Christmas holidays! I love you._

_Love,_

_Vince_

Gretchen looked at the letter and then looked back up at the group, "Vince does not know how to give me very good hints."

"Maybe that's the point," Spinelli pointed out as she took the letter out of Gretchen's hands to read it, "maybe its supposed to be a surprise."

Gretchen ignored her friend's reasoning as she opened the package. Inside the package were four beautiful sweaters. They were all the same cut and size and Gretchen had a feeling they would be perfect, and were in her four favorite colors (blue, red, green, and white).

"Sweaters to keep you warm these Christmas holidays," Spinelli said, pointing out the hint that Vince had given Gretchen in the note.

"I can't wait to try it on!" Gretchen screeched, "We so have to go do something fun tonight so I can wear it!"

"What is fun to you is not always fun to the rest of us," TJ informed her. Gretchen pretended to not hear him as she grabbed one of the sweaters to go try it on, "I don't think she really cares what I have to say right now."

"You're right, I don't," Gretchen yelled happily to him.


	10. Day Ten

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Ten

"I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart," Gretchen sang as she spun around the living room dusting things. Today she had decided to clean everything. The only people that were joining her for Christmas were her friends, so she had decided against purchasing a tree, but the house still could look nice.

"It would be an even merrier Christmas if we would have a tree," Mikey grumpily pointed out from his spot on the couch. The others had been less than willing to help her with her housework. TJ and Gus went to go get last minute gifts for a couple of friends, Spinelli was hanging out with an old college friend who had also moved to the City, and Mikey had just sat his butt down on the couch and refused to move. Gretchen didn't have to point out to her guests how rude it was of them to not help, they just didn't seem to care. Their responses were along the lines of, 'just get Vince to hire a maid for you on the twelfth day of Christmas' and 'we don't care if your house is messy.'

"Then go out and buy one," Gretchen snidely told him, standing in his way to dust off the television, "the way you complain Mikey I would assume that you lived here and not me."

"Somebody seems to have the winter blues," Mikey cheerfully told her, "maybe if you bought a tree, you would feel better."

"Mikey!" Gretchen exclaimed, giving him a hint of a smile, "you are hopeless."

"I like trees," Mikey shrugged, "when we went to see the big tree in the City, I was happy. Its not Christmas without trees."

"Mikey, Christmas is family time. If you are with people that you love, then you are celebrating Christmas," Gretchen gently told him.

"Does that mean your not celebrating Christmas because you don't have Vince here?" Mikey innocently asked her.

"I'm trying, I really am," Gretchen smiled at him, "but you guys being here is definitely helping me. I mean, what else could make me feel more like Christmas than you complaining, Gus and TJ being late buying their gifts, and Spinelli being my best friend?"

"A tree would make it feel more like Christmas," Mikey grinned at her, teasing her.

"The only way we are going to have any trees this Christmas Mikey," Gretchen informed him, "is if one magically appears on our doorstep. And I doubt that will happen. So, I'm sorry, there will be no Christmas tree."

"You ruin all my fun," Mikey grumpily said, then stood up, "come on, I'll help you clean the kitchen. You look like you could use some help."

Before Gretchen could respond, the doorbell rang. She hurried up to go answer it, hoping that it was her gift. When she opened the door, a UPS guy stood there, holding a letter.

"I'm supposed to give this to you first," he said in a monotone voice, handing her a letter. Gretchen ripped it open.

_Hey baby,_

_So ... I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. The Christmas holiday that is, and I've decided that I can probably figure out what's missing from your holiday celebration. I know you are probably thinking, 'he's not here, so he can't possibly know what I am missing for this holiday.' And you are right, I'm not there, but you are wrong, because I do know you a lot better than you apparently do. I can just see you putting up holiday decorations, deciding you don't need a lot because it is only going to be you and a couple of friends. And the biggest thing you decide to leave out? A Christmas tree. You take into account how crazy its going to make your friends for not having one (especially Mikey), but you decide to go ahead and do it anyways. I bet your thinking about what a genius I am now, aren't you? So, my gift to you for this day, is Christmas trees. Yeah, that's right, you heard me, TREES. One for the living room, a small one for your room, and another for the kitchen. I didn't get you any decorations, I figured the others could help you out with that. I love you baby and hope you enjoy the trees!_

_Love,_

_Vince_

Gretchen smiled as she read the letter, and then looked up at the UPS man, who seemed relieved that she finally was done with the letter. He then dragged three big boxes over to her door and pulled out his form for her to sign.

"Merry Christmas!" Gretchen called to him as he left. She then called Mikey to help her drag the boxes into the living room.

"What's in them?" Mikey asked, his voice full of curiosity.

"Oh, just a couple of Christmas trees," Gretchen explained, smiling at him as she reached to open one of the boxes.

"Finally! Somebody who cares about Christmas!" Mikey exclaimed, ripping into another of the boxes, "You do realize that this means we are going to have to go all out on the decorating of the trees. I see a lot of white and blue. And maybe red. This is going to be great! I am so excited for your boyfriend's gift! Why aren't you that excited? You have the best boyfriend ever!"

Gretchen couldn't help but agree with Mikey on his last statement as she stared at the three trees lying in their boxes, ready to be taken out.


	11. Day Eleven

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Day Eleven

"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!" Gretchen excitedly said as she walked out of her room and into the living room to see the whole gang assembled on the couch.

"I know, and since we finally have a tree, it even feels like Christmas!" Mikey said back, indicating the tree in the corner of the room. The group had stayed up late decorating it, drinking milk and eating cookies, just like they had done in the old days at TJ's house. TJ's mom always loved to have the whole group over to decorate the tree. The tree did look pretty good, however it didn't look as color coordinated as Mikey had been going for. After uncovering a box of ornaments the group had made in fifth grade, they had decided to put the worthless pieces on the tree.

"Well, it didn't feel like Christmas last night when we had so much trouble with the Christmas lights," Spinelli muttered under her breath, glaring daggers at the Christmas lights hanging from the tree. Spinelli and TJ had been in charge of putting the lights on the tree like they always had been and seemed to have exceptional trouble trying to get it to work last night. Gretchen couldn't help but giggle at the look on Spinelli's face.

"It's okay sweetheart, because they look pretty now," TJ informed her, kissing her and looking no where near as belligerent towards the lights as his girlfriend did.

"Plus, it was really funny watching you guys put them up there," Gus helpfully inserted.

"Shut up Gus," Spinelli grunted, kicking him softly.

"Are you going to go get your letter from Vince yet?" TJ asked Gretchen, deciding to change the subject before Spinelli got too belligerent and nobody was safe. Gretchen just smiled at him.

"I think I'll wait a couple of minutes," she said, nonchalantly, sitting down in an empty armchair. She was trying to act as if she didn't care whether or not Vince sent her a letter today. Of course, they all knew differently, but it was okay to pretend.

"So, you won't mind if I go ahead and go down to the mailbox and get the mail and keep it for myself?" Spinelli grinned at her.

"Spinelli! You can't do that," Gretchen hurriedly said as Spinelli got up from her spot on the couch. She quickly jumped up from her spot to run and beat Spinelli to the mailbox.

"Those two are just big kids," she heard Mikey say as she fled the room, knowing that Spinelli must already have the keys.

"Give it to me," she demanded as soon as Spinelli opened the mailbox and grabbed the mail.

"How do you even know its in here?" Spinelli asked her, teasing, "I mean, he's sent you packages the last few days, so what makes you think he's going to send you a letter now?"

"You know I come and check the mail every morning to make sure he doesn't send it to me here first," Gretchen complained, holding out her hand to Spinelli.

"Here you go," Spinelli presented her the letter and walked back to the apartment as Gretchen opened the envelope.

_Hey baby,_

_Tomorrow's Christmas Eve! Of course, I have practice at the same time I always do, so it won't be much of a Christmas Eve for me. But, knowing that you are having a great Christmas will be enough for me. However, I was thinking the other day about one of the first dates we went on as a couple. Do you remember when you made me go to our high school's production of Grease because you loved it so much? I could not even imagine at that time that you would like Grease. But, apparently, you had this big soft spot for all musicals. I have seen more musicals since our relationship started than I will ever admit too. I don't think that I could ever look these guys in the face if they knew that I could sing most songs in Grease by heart. Not that I don't love seeing it with you. Really, I don't mind. Just, really, did we have to watch so many? I think I've seen more musicals than TJ, Spinelli, Gus, and Mikey combined. Anyways, that was my memory for the day. I love you baby._

_Love,_

_Vince_

Gretchen then looked in the envelope to see her gift, already having a pretty good idea what it was.

"Broadway tickets!" she exclaimed as she entered back into her apartment a couple of seconds later, holding the tickets up.

"That's great," all of her friends smiled at her, and then began to look around. Gretchen assumed they were looking for a quick exit to make sure that they wouldn't be caught in the trap of going to go see a Broadway production with Gretchen. Gretchen could remember TJ's words on the subject of Broadway had been along the lines of highly overrated and he would rather gouge his eyes out than ever go to one.

"It's alright you guys," she laughed at them, "the production isn't until after you leave. So, you're all safe from the wrath of having to go with me. Even though I was looking forward to seeing TJ gouge his eyeballs out."

The others all laughed as TJ pretended to stick a fork in his eye, showing his ability to gouge his eye out.


	12. Day Twelve

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Yay! Merry Christmas! I love Christmas! It's the best day of the year (even if it is tomorrow).

Day Twelve

"So, when do we open presents?" Gus eagerly asked as they all sat around the living room at about five in the afternoon. They had just been lazy all of Christmas Eve and had not done much. Gus had been asking about every five minutes when they were going to open presents. Gus's impatience was highly amusing to the rest of the group.

"Gus, you know we don't open presents until Christmas day," Spinelli slightly scolded him. Gretchen was staring off into space. She hadn't received anything from Vince today, of course, she was not really planning on it because it was Christmas Eve and the post offices were closed. Yet, she was still sad. She had started to rely on the letters from Vince as part of her.

Just then the doorbell rang. Gretchen got up and answered the door, confused when no one was there. She looked down at the ground and noticed a letter sitting there. She closed the door and walked back over to the couch before opening the envelope.

She looked at the card that was inside. It said three simple words on it:

_Open the door._

Gretchen then got back up from the couch and slowly walked back over to the door and said, as she was walking, "man, this better be a good gift ... maybe a car, the only thing that could be better than that was if ...,"

She was cut off because as she opened the door she saw the gift that she was, in fact, going to say would be better than a car, "Vince!"

She ran out the door and jumped into his arms. He picked her up and spun her around before setting her on the ground.

"Hey kid," he softly said, kissing her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, leading him into the apartment.

"What? I can't stop by to see my girlfriend?" Vince asked, trying to sound a little hurt as he kept a smirk on his face.

"But, I mean, how?" Gretchen stammered, looking down at her feet.

"Because, I'm magical like that," Vince whispered to her, "come on, let's take a walk."

He seemed to be pointedly staring at their group of friends located behind them, listening to every word they were saying. The two got their coats and walked out the door. Vince slid his hand into Gretchen's and they walked on in silence.

"So, how did you get here?" Gretchen asked him.

"Well ... the coach decided to let us out for a couple weeks. It started about two days ago and goes through a couple days in January. So, I should be able to go with you to Broadway," Vince smiled at her.

"You are actually willing to go to Broadway with me?" Gretchen asked, a look of surprise, but admiration on her face. Vince possibly hated musicals more than TJ.

When they reached a nearby park, Vince stopped Gretchen and pulled her towards him, "Baby, you know I love you, right?"

"How could I not?" she teased, "with all the gifts and notes, I felt like the most loved person in the world."

"You should, I put a lot of thought into those," he retaliated.

"I noticed. Those letters were absolutely amazing. And making the best gift of all ... you being here ... for the night before Christmas," Gretchen smiled at him, giving him a soft kiss.

"Well ... I have something else for you," he quietly told her as he ended the kiss.

"What? You aren't my twelfth day Christmas gift?" Gretchen asked, "because that's enough for me."

"Trust me Gretch," Vince smiled at her, "this is definitely better than just getting me. When I first heard that we didn't have to stay and practice over the Christmas holiday, I thought about how excited you were going to be. But, then an idea hit me. I enlisted TJ and Spinelli's help with some of the presents and started this up. Of course, all of this was supposed to lead up to one big gift on Christmas Eve. So, go ahead and open it."

He handed her a tiny box wrapped in cute paper and a small bow on top of it.

"I thought it was supposed to be a big gift," she joked as she opened it. Once she saw what was in the box she let out a gasp, "oh my gosh."

"Gretchen, ever since the first day I met you, I knew you were the one for me. You were the one who initiated our relationship, by calling me and telling me you liked me. But, I feel as if I should probably move forward with the second part of our relationship," Vince said, getting down on one knee, "Gretchen you are my everything. I know what you are thinking right now. You are thinking we can't get married right now because we're too far apart in miles. But, I don't think you realize that I will do everything in my power to make this work. I lost a part of me when you went away to medical school and I went to go play basketball. Will you marry me Gretchen?"

"Yes! Yes! I will," Gretchen shouted, jumping into Vince's arms for the second time that night and planting a huge kiss on his lips, "I love you so much."

"I love you too baby," Vince replied softly, "I really love you too."


	13. Christmas Day

Author's Note: Merry Christmas! Okay, so this is the last chapter of my story, thank you for reading and hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.

Christmas Day

"Vince, I'm a little worried now," Gretchen whispered to Vince as they sat on her couch, his arm around her and her laying her head on his shoulder.

"About the engagement?" he whispered back. Gretchen simply nodded. When they had gotten back last night, the others had already gone to bed, so they had decided to wait until opening gifts on Christmas day to tell the gang of the engagement. But, after lying in her bed for a few minutes, Gretchen had become worried that this really wasn't going to work out, because they were so far away. No matter what Vince said.

"Look, baby," he gently told her, to where she was the only one who could hear, "I didn't want to tell you this yet because I'm still working out all the details and stuff, but I feel as if you should know so you won't worry about this as much. I am being drafted to a team closer to hear so we can actually see each other occasionally. It kind of just happened and I learned about it around three days before I left. It is definitely a miracle of Christmas."

"Really?" Gretchen asked excitedly, forgetting to keep her voice low, the other four friends turned to look at them. Spinelli and TJ were wrapped up in a blanket on the floor, cuddling while Gus and Mikey were each sitting in an arm chair.

"Somebody must be excited about their engagement," Spinelli teased her.

"How did you know about it?" Gretchen accused, looking at Vince, who just shrugged.

"Oh please, when Vince asked Teej and I to help deliver gifts for you I totally figured it out. Its not like I'm dumb or anything," Spinelli rolled her eyes, "but it is really exciting!"

"So you knew Vince wasn't cheating on me all along," Gretchen stated, now understanding why her friend hadn't taken the accusation against Vince more seriously.

"Of course I did," Spinelli once again rolled her eyes, "and if these guys would have thought about it they would have realized it too. In fact, you probably could have realized it too."

"Well, we'll just see if you know when you're getting proposed too," Gretchen said haughtily. TJ seemed to choke on his soda at that.

"That will definitely not be for a while," TJ managed to get out, "we are not ready for marriage."

"You guys were born to marry each other," Gus dismissed, before turning to the happily engaged couple, "so, how is this whole long distance marriage thing going to work out?"

"Gus!" Mikey scolded him, "we should give trials a day of rest in the midst of such joy for this happy couple."

"It's okay," Vince laughed, "its all worked out. We're going to start planning the wedding tomorrow and then I'm moving up here in the spring because I got transferred to a different team that's around here."

"I'm so excited," Spinelli squealed an uncharacteristic squeal, getting up from the ground and giving her two friends hugs. The other three followed her lead, as happy for the couple as Spinelli was, "okay, now you have to open my gift."

Spinelli picked up her gift and handed it to Gretchen, smiling at the girl.

"I can't wait since this is apparently the most awesome gift ever," Gretchen laughed.

"Well, looks like I can't top that one with the engagement ring you already have," Spinelli pouted.

"Well, I won't count that one," Gretchen reasoned, opening the package. Inside was a card, which Gretchen began to read aloud, "Dear Gretchen, This is a pass for you to call on your dear friend, Ashley Spinelli, when you find the time to go visit Vince. She will pay for your flight ticket there and back, along with two night's stay in a hotel of her choosing. Merry Christmas! Love, Spinelli."

"This was before I knew Vince was coming up here," Spinelli explained.

"No, its absolutely great," Gretchen smiled at her, giving her a hug, "this way I can visit Vince before he has to move up here. And we can spend some more time together."

"Thanks Spinelli," Vince added in, smiling down at his fiancee.

"By the way, that's your gift too Vince," Spinelli cheerfully said before turning to her boyfriend, "okay, TJ, I'm ready for my gift. And it better be good."

"I have to warn you, its not that good," TJ honestly said, handing his girlfriend a box, looking anxious. Spinelli slowly opened the box and then let out another squeal.

"A trip to Italy for two! This is so amazing!" she screamed, jumping up and hugging her boyfriend.

"I got the idea when you decided to give Gretchen a visit to Vince," TJ admitted, "I realized that you had never really been on a real vacation before, so over your spring break, we are definitely going."

"We have the best boyfriends in the world," Spinelli informed Gretchen, sitting next to her as TJ and Vince walked into the kitchen, "well, actually, you have the best fiancee and I have the best boyfriend."

"You're going to propose to her in Italy," Vince accused TJ in a whisper as soon as they entered the kitchen, so nobody could overhear them, "don't think I didn't notice that gleam in your eye."

"What can I say?" TJ shrugged, "it's about time for both of us to make our ladies our wives."

"That it is, that it is," Vince laughed as they finished refilling the cups and went back into the living room.

The group couldn't help but feel as if everything was right as they sat around the Christmas tree. Vince and Gretchen had resumed their spot on the couch, Gretchen examining her ring as she leaned into Vince. Spinelli and TJ had also resumed their position, huddling together and talking in very low voices about Italy. Gus and Mikey were now sitting on the floor and playing what seemed to be an intense game of Go Fish. Yup, thought the group, this was definitely the right way to spend Christmas.


End file.
